Cairo, Egypt, 5 April 2017
Introduction The ITU, during the last Study Period (2013-2016), organized two workshops relating to counterfeit ICT devices and conformance and interoperability testing, both in Geneva, in
November 2014 and
June 2016.
The workshops identified the problems and the negative impact of counterfeiting ranging from lost taxes and other revenue; erosion of brand value, network disruptions and interoperability challenges resulting in poor quality of service delivery; and risks to health, safety and environment.
There has also been calls from ITU members in Africa for support to combating counterfeit as well as support in conformance testing. However, due to the absence or less availability of factual findings,
ITU-T SG11 conducted a survey of the African region with the aim of gathering empirical information on the nature of the challenges, use cases and efforts in place to address such challenges posed by counterfeit ICT products. One of the outcomes of the survey was the establishment of the regional group of ITU-T SG11 in Africa (
SG11RG-AFR) aimed at dealing specifically with issues affecting the region. The
survey was approved at the ITU-T SG11 meeting which took place in Geneva from 6-15 February 2017.
Within the ITU and around the world, there have also been debates as to whether or not conformance and interoperability programmes could be one of the technical solutions to combat counterfeit ICT devices. This workshop is being organised with the aim of:
- Soliciting views, proposals and ideas from ITU Africa members and experts and get A good grasp of the nature of the problem;
- Understanding new trends and mechanisms in ICT counterfeiting, tampering and/or duplication of unique device identifiers;
- Understanding mechanisms to secure the supply chain management (from manufacturing, importation distribution and marketing) to ensure traceability, security, privacy and trust of people, products and networks;
- Determining whether or not conformance and interoperability programmes are possible technical solutions to combat counterfeit ICT devices;
- Continuing to raise awareness of the problem of counterfeiting of ICT devices and the dangers they pose;
- Raising awareness of the Joint ITU/IEC Assessment and Certification Task Force;
- Creating awareness of the studies currently on-going and use the meeting outcomes as a basis for contribution to ITU-T SG11.
The Workshop will be followed by the first ITU-T SG11 Regional group meeting for Africa (6 April 2017). According to Resolution 54 of WTSA-16, one of the goals of the Regional Group is to encourage the involvement of developing countries in standardization activities in their regions, and to submit written contributions to the parent ITU-T SG11.
All ITU members in Africa are encouraged to participate in these events.
Target Audience
ITU members in the Africa region are invited. In particular, the participation of vendors and manufacturers, research institutions and academia, laboratories, regulators, operators, NGOs, customs authorities and security agencies, national standards and conformity assessment bodies and other such similar organizations within the region are welcomed.
